UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Department of Economics ECON 484 – A1
Game Theory and Economic Applications Fall 2018
Instructor:
Andrew Eckert Office: Tory 9-29 Phone: 492-3959
Email: [email protected]
Class Schedule:
Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:30 – 4:50, in TB 5.
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:30 – 3:00. Additional office hours may be added before exams and assignment due dates. I am also available by appointment.
Prerequisites:
ECON 384 and ECON 299. These prerequisites will be checked. If you do not meet these requirements your registration will be cancelled. NOTE: students may have math and statistics courses that are equivalent to ECON 299. If you have not taken ECON 299 but have taken math and statistics courses that you believe are equivalent, please contact the Department of Economics Undergraduate Advisor at [email protected]. Be sure to provide your full name and student number, and list the courses that you think should be considered equivalent to ECON 299.
Purpose of the Course:
In this course we will develop game theoretic tools beyond those introduced in ECON 384. We will examine static games of complete information, dynamic games of complete information, static games of incomplete information and dynamic games of incomplete information. Throughout the course, game theory will be applied to various economic settings, including oligopoly, voting, auctions and bargaining.
Evaluation:
The final grade for the course will be determined according to the following formula:
Assignments (4) 30%
Mid-term exam (October 25) 30%
Final Exam (December 18, tentative date) 40%
This breakdown is used to compute a percentage grade. These grades will then be translated into letter grades, targeting a class average between 3.0 – 3.6 (ie.
approximately a B+) although in certain circumstances it is possible for the class average to lie outside of this interval. Both absolute performance and performance relative to the rest of the class will be considered in determining your letter grades. Credit is not given for attendance or in-class participation.
University policy on missed exams and term work can be found in the Attendance section of the Calendar. Assignments submitted late without an acceptable reason being given will receive a grade of zero. Note that approval for late submission of an assignment or for missing the midterm exam is at my discretion. Students who miss the midterm exam for a reason that I consider acceptable will have the weight of the midterm placed on the final exam. Students who offer a medical justification must submit the Request for Deferral of Examinations and/or Term Work form, available on the Faculty of Arts webpage and on eclass.
Note: Students requesting a deferred final exam must do so at their home Faculty office.
The deferred final exam (for those students granted one) will be held on January 4, 2019, at 2:00 PM.
Past Exams
Midterm and final exams from previous years will be made available on the ECON 484 eclass page. Current assignments will also be made available on this page the day they are handed out.
Textbooks:
Required Reading:
The main textbook for this course is:
Watson, J. (2013): Strategy: An Introduction to Game Theory, third edition (Norton).
This book is available at the bookstore.
Recommended Reading:
The following three books have been put on reserve in Rutherford:
H.S. Bierman and L. Fernandez (1998): Game Theory with Economic Applications, second edition (Addison-Wesley).
Mas-Colell, A., M. Whinston, and J. Green (1995): Microeconomic Theory (Oxford University Press).
Camerer, C. (2003): Behavioral Game Theory (Princeton University Press).
Finally, some online notes will be posted for the final section of the course.
Course Outline and Readings:
Note: BF refers to Bierman and Fernandez. MWG refers to Mas-Colell et al. Additional readings may be announced during term. The dates for different topics are tentative and subject to change.
1. Introduction and the Extensive Form (September 4-6) Required Readings:
Watson, Chapters 1 and 2.
Recommended Readings:
MWG: Chapter 7
1. Static Games of Complete Information (September 11 – 27) Required readings:
Watson, Chapters 3 to 11 Recommended Readings BF Chapters 1, 2 and 5
MWG Chapter 8, Sections A, B, and D Camerer Chapters 1, 3 and 5
2. Dynamic Games of Complete Information (October 2 – 23) Required Readings
Watson, Chapters 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 22, 23 Recommended Readings
BF Chapters 6, 7 and 9
MWG Chapter 7, Chapter 9 Sections A and B Camerer, Chapters 2 and 4 (sections 4.1 to 4.3)
3. Static Games of Incomplete Information (October 30 – November 8) Required Readings
Watson, Chapters 24-27.
Recommended Readings BF Chapter 13 and 14 MWG Chapter 8 Section E.
4. Dynamic Games of Incomplete Information (November 20 – 29) Required Readings
Watson, Chapters 28 and 29.
Recommended Readings BF Chapters 15, 16 and 19
MWG Chapter 9 Sections C and D.
Camerer Chapter 4 (section 4.3), Chapter 8.
5. Further Refinements (December 4 – 6) Required Readings
Online Notes
Recommended Readings
MWG, Chapter 8, Section F, and Chapter 9, Section D.
Other Notes:
Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as part of an approved accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the content author(s).
Policy about course outlines can be found in the Evaluation Procedures and Grading System section of the University Calendar.
The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence.
Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
Student Accessibility Services: If you have a condition that may require some classroom or exam modifications, please contact SAS (www.ssds.ualberta.ca) to obtain a
determination as to what accommodations should be made.
Student Success Centre: The Student Success Centre (www.studentsuccess.ualberta.ca) offers a variety of learning resources, including a variety of workshops in learning effective study and exam strategies. Sessions are available in person and online, for a fee.